Hiawassee, Ga. – It may not be the same dominant performance Murphy fans have become accustomed to in recent seasons, but this year’s Lady Bulldogs team continues to find a way to win.
Against a tall and athletic Rabun County High School in the Battle of the States championship, Murphy dug deep to take down the Lady Wildcats 54-49 and win the title last week.
“The kids are starting to believe that we have a shot,” head coach Ray Gutierrez said. “We’re going to keep working hard, hopefully make some shots and we’re going to get better and better.”
It was an odd three days for Murphy (9-2 overall), who were looking forward to testing themselves in the three games in three days format. After cruising past winless Coosa, Ga., 59-27 in the opening round, Murphy was set to play Pendleton, S.C., in the semifinals. But when they got to Towns County High School, they were told the game was off due to illness within the Pendleton program and they would get a bye to the championship game.
The title game got off to a tough start, with Rabun County using their press to dictate the tempo. The Lady Wildcats (11-3) used an 11-0 run to lead 15-8 at the end of the opening frame, hitting from inside and outside as Murphy’s offense struggled to get going.
The Lady Bulldogs came alive in the second quarter, outscoring Rabun County 23-12. They solved the Lady Wildcats’ press, and were able to force a few turnovers with a three-quarter court press of their own. A 9-0 run by Murphy seniors Calista Adams, Amber Martin and Torin Rogers, gave the Lady Bulldogs 19-17 lead.
Rogers was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, while Adams and Martin were named to the All-Tournament team.
“We knew they like to press and get in our heads and hope that we would turn the ball over,” Rogers said. “One of our things was don’t panic. Play at our speed, and I think once we got them out of the press we were able to do that.”
A three-point play by Carley Haban put Rabun County back ahead 20-19, but Rogers answered with a bucket and Murphy never trailed again. Despite that, the Lady Wildcats never went away. The Lady Bulldogs led 31-27 at halftime and by as much as eight early in the fourth quarter.
But Murphy hit just one shot in the field in the fourth quarter, and a Haban layup trimmed the Lady Bulldogs lead to one with 18.1 seconds remaining. From there, Addie Johnson hit two big free throws, Haban air-balled a three and Rogers knocked down two more from the foul line.
Whatever uncertainty there was about Murphy heading into this year, the Lady Bulldogs have answered it as they head into 2022. A tough non-conference schedule featured wins over two of Georgia’s top AA teams in Fannin and Rabun counties, and they knocked off Cherokee and Robbinsville in the early Big Smoky Mountain Conference schedule.
“We’re at the point now where no matter who we’re playing, our expectation is to win,” Rogers said. “We take it one game at a time and whatever team is next up on MaxPreps, our goal is to win. That’s the mindset, and I think everyone is buying into that now.”